The tradition of hanging stockings from the mantelpiece of a fireplace (or at another selected location in the house) on Christmas Eve is one of the best known and widely practiced traditions of the Christmas season in the United States. According to custom, "Santa Claus" will appear during the night and fill the empty stocking with candy, fruit, small toys and the like as a reward for good behavior during the preceding year.
Over the years, the so-called Christmas stockings have grown in size to the point where they are typically several times the size of a normal sock, and they are often festively decorated on their outer surface. This decoration typically takes the form of winter or holiday pictorial designs, pictures of toys, or any one of many other festive designs. For example, synthetic fur is often attached to the stocking about its open top end, while bright colors, patterns and/or pictorial images cover the outer surface of the remainder of the stocking. In many cases, the name of the stocking's owner (i.e., the individual to whom the gifts in the stocking are directed) is also placed on the outside of the stocking. Christmas stockings also typically include a hanger element (frequently in the form of a loop of material) located adjacent the rear edge of its open top end, so as to facilitate hanging the stocking in an upright manner from the mantelpiece, etc.
It is also well known among children and adults that the exterior surface of a stocking-like article can be decorated to form a simple hand puppet. In one simple form, this is achieved simply by appropriately decorating the exterior of a conventional sock. In such an arrangement, the exterior surface of the sock is typically decorated so that the heel of the sock represents the top of the head of the puppet character which is being created, the closed toe end of the sock forms the mouth of the character, and the eyes and nose of the character are placed as appropriate between the toe and heel of the sock. Additionally, the portion of the stocking extending from its heel to its open end may be decorated so as to represent the neck of the character being created.
It is also well known among children and adults that puppets can be utilized in storytelling situations. In such circumstances, the puppet typically depicts one of the characters in the story and is used as a prop by the storyteller to heighten the listener's enjoyment.